I’ve spent far too much of my time and limited mind space thinking about this rather inane question:

What on earth is Allstate thinking?

For the last couple of years, they’ve had the Strong Soothing Black Man as their spokesperson in their TV spots. Don’t know his name, but it doesn’t matter. The SSBM exudes what we all need right now: quiet strength, unwavering confidence, the feeling that no matter what may go wrong in your life, the SSBM will make it all go away.

Are you in good hands? We sure are, Strong Soothing Black Man.

Then inexplicably, it all changed.

Like a child wrenched from Daddy’s arms, my safety and security were suddenly blasted from me. Because, without warning, the Allstate commercials began featuring the uber-creepy Mayhem.

Mayhem’s your basic Psychotic White Guy, posing as every threat you’ve never thought of. Your everyday life, your most basic and innocent acts – such as cruising to Vons to pick up bananas – are made sinister. Because Mayhem is lurking everywhere.

He’s the tree smashing your windshield, the teenage girl texting her way into the back of your head, the ghoulish fool howling through the sun roof in a parking lot – as he careens into your back bumper.

I watched in horror. I waited for the Strong Soothing Black Man to appear and make it all go away.

But he never came. And I was afraid.

Because this sudden, crazy shift in Allstate’s marketing freaked me out. I wondered, who IS this company? And why do they suddenly want to scare the living crap out of me with this Psychotic White Guy? Allstate’s bipolar positioning shift left me confused – and wary.

Which leads us to Promobabe’s Inconvenient Truth #2: Know Thyself

Does your company project a consistent brand identity? Do your customers have a clear idea of who you are and what you stand for? Here are Promobabe’s basic guidelines for making sure you know thyself:

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What’s the biggest gift your customers can give you? Their loyalty – and their love. And the only way to get it is to get real.

That’s what we’re always working on here at Eagle Marketing. For 30 years, we’ve specialized in loyalty marketing. For companies of all sizes, in all industries.
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